Daily driver overlanding

[TM89]

Good evening all!

Before long I'll be back in the overlanding game and wanted some opinions on rigs that could double as a livable daily driver, meaning a realistic compromise between reliability (roughly 20k miles a year, much of which is highway), mpg, comfor and capability.

Keep in mind I live in SW Oklahoma and it's fairly flat. The extent of my travel will be pavement, dirt roads, small amounts of mud, and snow, weather dependent. Outdoor activites would be camping, kayaking, fishing, hiking, etc. No hardcore mudding or rock crawling. I know the big names are obviously solid (4runner, tacoma, wrangler, etc), but I have began looking at some unconventional alternatives and wanted to see if anyone had experience in this area.

My thoughts are with these vehicles:

Toyota Highlander
Lexus RX models
Acura MDX (gf has one, so Im familiar) or RDX
Volvo XC70 or XC90
Honda pilot or ridgeline
Mazda CX5,7,9

I look forward to chatting with everyone! Safe travels.

 

[Tundracamper]

I have a 4Runner and do pretty much what you say.

is the Highlander four wheel drive? I think it’s AWD, which is not the same. Not sure on the others. I would get a true 4WD.

 

[TM89]

I had a 4runner, i did like it, I am only exploring alternatives for the sake of saving money and leaving no stone unturned!

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Subaru Forester?

 

[TM89]

Subaru Forester?

That had crossed my mind, as did the crosstrek. Still need to explore thar rabbit hole some more, worried about head gaskets and I'd want manual if at all possible

 

[ThundahBeagle]

That had crossed my mind, as did the crosstrek. Still need to explore thar rabbit hole some more, worried about head gaskets and I'd want manual if at all possible

Crosstrek...tome...I could fit a Coleman 52 quart cooler and a tent back there. Doubtful if a roof box AND two kayaks would make a comfy ride. Certainly very little room to sleep unless you do have a roof box. I like them and try to convince myself, but the Forester is a better fit for me so I'm leaning that way.

Head gasket things was supposedly solved several years ago, so if you get, say a 2015 and up you should be good. Unfortunately 2019 and up, and there is no manual transmission. However on select trim Foresters (Sport, Wilderness and I think Touring) there is a manual "mode". Move the shifter to M and use the + and - paddle shifters at the steering wheel. Not quite the same but, eh.

CVT is supposedly a "chain", so pretty strong by comparison of other CVT's. Between that, the boxer engine and the direct injection, makes for a noisy engine bay, but hey, my 2014 GMC Sierra 5.3 is direct injection too, and its noisier than my 1994 5.7.

Test drove a number of Subaru Foresters over the last couple months and have never had a car that has as few blind spots. Great visibility. I'm really gonna miss my truck but I'm not gonna miss the high cost of gas, since the real world economy could be anywhere he tween 50% and 100% better.

 

[TM89]

Crosstrek...tome...I could fit a Coleman 52 quart cooler and a tent back there. Doubtful if a roof box AND two kayaks would make a comfy ride. Certainly very little room to sleep unless you do have a roof box. I like them and try to convince myself, but the Forester is a better fit for me so I'm leaning that way.

Head gasket things was supposedly solved several years ago, so if you get, say a 2015 and up you should be good. Unfortunately 2019 and up, and there is no manual transmission. However on select trim Foresters (Sport, Wilderness and I think Touring) there is a manual "mode". Move the shifter to M and use the + and - paddle shifters at the steering wheel. Not quite the same but, eh.

CVT is supposedly a "chain", so pretty strong by comparison of other CVT's. Between that, the boxer engine and the direct injection, makes for a noisy engine bay, but hey, my 2014 GMC Sierra 5.3 is direct injection too, and its noisier than my 1994 5.7.

Test drove a number of Subaru Foresters over the last couple months and have never had a car that has as few blind spots. Great visibility. I'm really gonna miss my truck but I'm not gonna miss the high cost of gas, since the real world economy could be anywhere he tween 50% and 100% better.

I definitely agree. I love the styling of the crosstrek, but its pretty small. So it sounds like as modern of a forester as one can get, pre 2019 if I want a manual. Ill do some research!

 

[DevilDodge]

I always want to give a solid opinion...but the only vehicle that suits my needs and preforms well for me is RAM HeavyDuty Trucks.

the Honda Ridgeline does catch my eye often. But just too small for me.

I really wanted a Gladiator...but the same.

I am not even sure what some of those vehicles you listed are.

The Ford ranger has been a cool rig set up for overlanding...dang it...see I always go to a truck.

Sorry. No useful information from me.

I vote Honda Ridgeline from your list

 

[TM89]

I always want to give a solid opinion...but the only vehicle that suits my needs and preforms well for me is RAM HeavyDuty Trucks.

the Honda Ridgeline does catch my eye often. But just too small for me.

I really wanted a Gladiator...but the same.

I am not even sure what some of those vehicles you listed are.

The Ford ranger has been a cool rig set up for overlanding...dang it...see I always go to a truck.

Sorry. No useful information from me.

I vote Honda Ridgeline from your list

I appreciate it! Its got its pros and cons for sure. I do a good deal of wrenching on my own cars so i try to be partial to honda and toyota.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

is the Highlander four wheel drive? I think it’s AWD, which is not the same. Not sure on the others. I would get a true 4WD.

I used to think that way, but if it's a daily driver, I've gotten to prefer the "clutch pack" transfer case in my Ram.

If you're doing "light" overlanding BECAUSE you're in your daily driver and have no intention of rock climbing and such, the awd systems nowadays actually work pretty darned good. I've never been stuck in mine, nor overheated it.

We also own a Subaru Forester "Wilderness" which is a pretty cool rig.

 

[TM89]

I used to think that way, but if it's a daily driver, I've gotten to prefer the "clutch pack" transfer case in my Ram.

If you're doing "light" overlanding BECAUSE you're in your daily driver and have no intention of rock climbing and such, the awd systems nowadays actually work pretty darned good. I've never been stuck in mine, nor overheated it.

We also own a Subaru Forester "Wilderness" which is a pretty cool rig.

See, this right here is what makes me think.

Sure, 4runner is a good answer. But the only time ive needed to hit 4wd was in heavy snow. It's more to serve as a trail/adventure rig and NOT a wheeler/crawler. Most people don't use their rig to its capacity.

 

[18163.175]

I have a couple of Mercedes Benz MLs. They are very comfortable on road and very capable off road. I prefer the first generation between 98 and 05. They are a body on frame with a 2 speed transfer case.

 

[TM89]

I have a couple of Mercedes Benz MLs. They are very comfortable on road and very capable off road. I prefer the first generation between 98 and 05. They are a body on frame with a 2 speed transfer case.

OK I'm a bit interested here, what's the maintenance and reliability like?

 

[18163.175]

I have a couple of Mercedes Benz MLs. They are very comfortable on road and very capable off road. I prefer the first generation between 98 and 05. They are a body on frame with a 2 speed transfer case.

OK I'm a bit interested here, what's the maintenance and reliability like?

Both of mine were clapped out and neglected, one was wrecked. That's how I could afford them, $1600 for both. I am a European vehicle mechanic, so I could fix them up myself. The drivetrains are bullet proof. I've driven one 30k miles 90% on road, and have had no problems with it. The other has been off road 6k miles without a problem. Both have 196k miles.

 

[TM89]

Both of mine were clapped out and neglected, one was wrecked. That's how I could afford them, $1600 for both. I am a European vehicle mechanic, so I could fix them up myself. The drivetrains are bullet proof. I've driven one 30k miles 90% on road, and have had no problems with it. The other has been off road 6k miles without a problem. Both have 196k miles.

Ive worked on a lot of Japanese cars, i know thats different, but Im no stranger to wrenching and i can teach myself just about anything with a write up or youtube video. I may look into these. Although id probably make it a dedicated rig instead of a 20k mile/year daily driver. Just asking for trouble doing that with an old german car

 

[18163.175]

Both of mine were clapped out and neglected, one was wrecked. That's how I could afford them, $1600 for both. I am a European vehicle mechanic, so I could fix them up myself. The drivetrains are bullet proof. I've driven one 30k miles 90% on road, and have had no problems with it. The other has been off road 6k miles without a problem. Both have 196k miles.

Ive worked on a lot of Japanese cars, i know thats different, but Im no stranger to wrenching and i can teach myself just about anything with a write up or youtube video. I may look into these. Although id probably make it a dedicated rig instead of a 20k mile/year daily driver. Just asking for trouble doing that with an old german car

I keep one as a daily driver and one as a dedicated off roader. I keep the off road one on a CTEK battery maintainer. The computers/control modules don't like dead batteries.

 

[TM89]

I keep one as a daily driver and one as a dedicated off roader. I keep the off road one on a CTEK battery maintainer. The computers/control modules don't like dead batteries.

What kind of maintenance would I need to be aware of? I've got a decent and growing garage setup and I can a decent amount of work without going to a mech.

 

[18163.175]

I keep one as a daily driver and one as a dedicated off roader. I keep the off road one on a CTEK battery maintainer. The computers/control modules don't like dead batteries.

What kind of maintenance would I need to be aware of? I've got a decent and growing garage setup and I can a decent amount of work without going to a mech.

I've learned a lot on benzworld.org. I've worked on these rigs with 300-450k miles. The engine is used in every model Mercedes in those years and the transmission in literally everything, even the Sprinter.

 

[TM89]

I've learned a lot on benzworld.org. I've worked on these rigs with 300-450k miles. The engine is used in every model Mercedes in those years and the transmission in literally everything, even the Sprinter.

As long as its not going to turn into a massive money pit or an oversized paperweight, i could get into it.

 

[tjZ06]

I'm just going to throw out a curve-ball, but why not a separate DD and Overlander? I get the benefits of one vehicle for both (1 set of tire/brakes/oil changes/etc, reg and insurance on one vehicle vs. 2 etc.) but I always think it's at least worth considering dedicated vehicles. Say you were going to spend $30-40k on the options you've listed (maybe more for some of them, like a new RX appears to start at nearly $50k), you could spend ~$25k on a brand new Civic and ~$15k on a good Frontier/Xterra Pro-4X (just as one example) and have vehicles very well suited to their individual purposes.


-TJ